For the past decade York has successfully taught about the links between archaeology and heritage to postgraduate and professional development students, and we have developed an excellent international reputation for our teaching and research in this field. We are now building on these strengths by offering an undergraduate degree programme, which can serve as the basis for careers within the heritage sector, as well as other career choices and for further study. We recognise the direct relevance of heritage to contemporary society, a sentiment which is clearly evident in the way we teach heritage studies. Cultural heritage includes legacies of past human activity, with a particular focus on those which have persisted into the present. These can be physical things like buildings and archaeological sites, artefacts, and the visible and ‘tangible’ landscape, but heritage can also be intangible: cultural traditions and dialect are equally important parts of how people define themselves and their heritage.

Students with a BA in Archaeology and Heritage can, of course, enter a variety of heritage professions, from museums and galleries, to archives and archaeological units. In addition, many of our students go on to become education officers in museums or public archaeology groups, or provide expertise to local authorities and heritage bodies. However, students might also use the skills they develop here to enter a wide range of professions outside of the heritage sector, particularly those which value skills such as: problem solving; creative thinking; analysis and interpretation of evidence; project management skills; public engagement; IT literacy and numeracy; equal aptitude in written and verbal communication; a sense of geography and space, and a global perspective. Clearly these skills are in high demand, and though many disciplines offer the opportunity to excel in some of them, few will allow you to develop across the whole spectrum. In short, York Archaeology and Heritage students graduate with a very attractive and highly unusual skillset.